Long-term use of outdoor equipment is the easiest way to reduce its environmental footprint, because the longer it lasts, the lower the yearly environmental impact. We have always stood for high-quality, durable products. Nevertheless, damage can never be completely ruled out, whether it’s down to intensive use, a fault in the material or a mishap. But it’s by no means a reason to dispose of the product straight away: our in-house repair department is there to help.
In Switzerland, eleven employees mend around 6,000 items each year, saving thousands of products from becoming trash or at best landing in the recycling bin. In Germany, approximately 9,000 items are repaired every year. Let’s say for the sake of simplicity that this concerns only hard shell jackets that would otherwise be disposed of; the work completed in the repair workshop then annually saves almost 375,000 kilograms of CO2-equivalent and 3,000,000 liters of water.
"Wash your jackets and pants regularly! Otherwise sweat and sebum will attack the membrane. This can lead to the membrane no longer being waterproof, which isn't something that can be repaired."
Korinna Mamie, Head of Global Customer Service
A repair usually begins with the defective product being brought to the retailer and then forwarded to a MAMMUT repair workshop. Various sewing machines, ironing stations and special equipment are available there. In the picture, a seamstress is busy with an Eiger Extreme jacket. Due to a customer's mishap, several zipper teeth have melted, which is why it can no longer be completely closed.
First, our repair professionals inspect the jacket and consult with the retailer or the end customer. Then an experienced seamstress begins the repair by first applying heat and pulling off the thin tape strips. Afterwards she unpicks the stitching and removes the defect zipper from the jacket. She then sews the right side of the new one onto the underlay before sewing this onto the jacket. The underlay prevents rain getting in and also ensures that the zipper isn't in direct contact with the skin. As a last step, the seamstress applies new tape over the seams so that the jacket is waterproof again.
"Please send in your damaged product freshly washed! This is partly for hygiene reasons, and also because we reweld the seams after a repair, and a clean surface is required to ensure lasting adherence of the tapes."
Korinna Mamie, Head of Global Customer Service
This repair took a total of three to four hours. The work needed can, of course, vary greatly depending on the product and the defect. Replacing a zipper is one of the most common repairs carried out. But pretty tricky projects often find their way onto our seamstresses’ workshop counters too. Customers are frequently surprised that their damaged favorite items can be repaired after all.
Thanks to our repair workshops in Switzerland and Germany a total of 15,000 items were successfully given a new lease on life in 2018 alone. We intend to expand on this service by establishing additional repair workshops worldwide.
